Sensex ends at day's low, down 746 pts ; Bajaj Auto jumps 11%; RIL down 2%

Market updates: Investors took some profit off the table on Friday after markets scaled historic levels a day before, when the S&P BSE Sensex surpassed the 50,000-mark for the first time. That said, investors rewarded stocks of the firms that delivered strong Q3FY21 results.

In the intra-day trade, the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex plunged 790 points and hit a low of 48,835 levels. The index settled around day's low level of 48,878 levels, down 746 points or 1.5 per cent. Financial bore the maximum brunt with Axis Bank declining 4.4 per cent on the Sensex, followed by SBI (3.5 per cent), ICICI Bank (3.7 per cent), and IndusInd Bank (3.5 per cent).

On the flipside, Bajaj Auto, HUL, TCS, Ultratech Cement, and Bajaj Finserv were the only gainers on the Sensex.

On the NSE, the Nifty50 settled at 14,372 levels, down 218 points or 1.5 per cent.

The broader markets, however, fared slightly better. The S&P BSE MidCap index ended 1.1 per cent lower at 18,777.46 levels while the S&P BSE SmallCap index closed at 18,442 levels, down 0.93 per cent. 

Sectorally, most of the key indices settled lower. The Nifty Metal index underperformed the benchmark and closed 4 per cent lower. Among individual stocks, SAIL fell 14 per cent, JSPL slipped 8 per cent, and Hindustan Copper declined over 4 per cenrt. READ MORE

That apart, Nifty Bank index tanked over 1,000 points, or 3.25 per cent, to close at 31,176 levels. 

BUZZING STOCKS 

Shares of SBI Cards settled Friday's session 5 per cent higher after the SBI-arm reported impovement in asset quality in the December quarter. READ MORE

That apart, investors bought shares of Bajaj Auto, that hit a record high of Rs 4,130 and ended 11 per cent higher on the Sensex, after the company reported an expansion in operating Ebitda margin to 19.8 per cent from 18.4 per cent in the year-ago quarter. READ MORE

On the downside, shares of Biocon plunged 13 per cent in the intra-day trade and ended 11 per cent lower on lower-than-expected Q3 results, with consolidated net profit down 17 per cent year on year (YoY) at Rs 169 crore. READ MORE

Shares of Reliance Industries ended 2.4 per cent lower on Friday ahead of the announcement of its December quarter results. The shares have surged around 6 per cent during the week.

GLOBAL CUES

Asian shares slipped off record highs on Friday as investors took profits after a recent rally that was driven by hopes of US economic stimulus by newly inaugurated President Joe Biden.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific stocks outside of Japan extended losses in afternoon trading to be last off 0.6 per cent at 720.17 points following three straight sessions of gains. Australia's benchmark index eased 0.3 per cent while Japan's Nikkei fell 0.4 per cent.

In Europe, stocks fell on Friday, hit by tighter travel restrictions in the euro zone and weak UK retail sales numbers. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.4 per cent.

(With inputs from Reuters)

4:26 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Deepak Jasani, Head of Research, HDFC Securities

Indian benchmark equity indices ended lower for the second straight day on Jan 22, correcting further after making a record high on Thursday. This was the biggest single-day drop for the benchmarks in a month. Friday's correction marked the end of an 11-week gaining streak for the frontline indices, which was the longest since 2009. At close the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 1.1% to end at 14,371.

 

Volumes on the NSE were large on a negative day. Among sectors, Nifty Bank, PSU bank, Metals and Realty fell the most while Auto index gained. Broad market indices fell less than the Nifty.

 

The Nifty seems to have begun the pre-Budget correction. Though the week on week loss is just 0.43%, the sentiments are dented severely going by the sharply adverse advance decline ratio. 14049-14098 is the support band for the Nifty.

4:13 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director, Choice Broking.

Fundamental

 

Indian equities opened flat today on the back of weakness in the American markets and mixed performances across Asia. Profit booking seen throughout the day pulled the benchmark index below the 49,000 mark, and ended the day around 1.5% down. Auto and IT sectors were the top gainers in the index today, while Metal, Banking and Realty sectors were the biggest losers. Broader markets were also in the red but relatively outperformed the benchmarks, the Midcap and Smallcap indices ended today’s session around 1.2% and 0.6% lower. In stock specific performance, Bajaj Auto, Hero Motocorp and Eicher Motors were the top gainers in the index today, while Axis Bank, Asian Paints and JSW Steel were the top laggards. Going ahead investors will keenly watch the earnings announcement of key companies like HUL, L&T and Ultratech Cement.

 

Technical

 

Nifty continued its downside rally for a consecutive second day and closed the week at 14371.90 level with a loss of 218 points, while Bank Nifty showed more weakness compared to Nifty and closed the session at 31167.25 level with a loss of 1019 points. On the sectoral front, Nifty Auto and IT managed to trade in the green zone while Metal, Banking and Financial Services showed profit booking and closed into negative territory with a loss more than 2.5% each. Technically, on a daily chart, the benchmark index has confirmed the Dark Cloud Cover candlestick pattern which suggests downside movement in upcoming sessions. Nifty has given a closing below 21 Hourly Moving Average which points out that the short term trend is weak. Momentum Indicator RSI also bounced from the overbought Zone and closed 58.65 with a negative crossover which signifies weakness in the index. Now, the Nifty has resistance at 14650 Levels while downside support comes at 14200 Levels.

4:01 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services

Indian indices tumbled on afternoon trade dragged by weak global markets and selling seen in Metal and Banking indices. Positive outlook for Auto and IT stocks helped them to retain their momentum even during today’s correction. European markets fell today on weak UK retail sales numbers and increasing restrictions in the Eurozone, while Asian markets followed its European peers. The decisions taken in the upcoming Union Budget along with the policies of the new US Government are expected to define momentum in the near term

4:01 PM

TECH VIEW :: Rohit Singre, senior technical analyst at LKP Securities

Nifty closed a week at 14371 with loss of 60 points and formed a Doji sort of candle pattern for second consecutive week hinting uncertainty in the markets. Going forward immediate support for nifty is coming near 14300-14200 zone any break below 14200 zone may see some more pressure towards 14k mark, good hurdle is created near 14500 zone any rise near 14500 zone will be again position trimming zone above 14500 we may see some relief in Nifty

4:01 PM

MARKET CLOSING COMMENT :: Rusmik Oza, Executive Vice President, Head of Fundamental Research, Kotak Securities

The incessant rally in BSE-30 Index paused this week with both BSE Sensex and Nifty-50 ending nearly flat. We are seeing some kind of profit booking at higher levels as the Sensex touched the psychological mark of 50,000 this week. The persisting rise in cases has intensified restrictions in parts of Europe, UK and Hong Kong which is impacting global markets. 

FII flows have been decent at ~Rs.6,900 cr in the first four days of this week while DII selling has seem some moderation with selling of Rs.2145 in the same period. We can expect volatility to remain high next week also as there will be the monthly expiry and it will be the last week before the Union Budget.

3:59 PM

Market stats :: Market breadth favours bears

3:56 PM

S&P BSE SmallCap slips 1%

3:54 PM

S&P BSE MidCap index ends 1% down

3:52 PM

SECTOR OF THE DAY :: Two-wheeler stocks lead the auto pack

3:51 PM

SECTOR IN FOCUS :: Nifty Bank tanks 1,000 pts

3:50 PM

STOCK OF THE DAY :: Biocon plunges 11%

3:49 PM

STOCK OF THE DAY :: Bajaj Auto ends over 10% higher

3:44 PM

Sectoral trends on NSE

3:40 PM

Sensex Heatmap :: Only 6 constituents end the day in the green

3:36 PM

CLOSING BELL